Transatlantic Summit To Emphasize The Positive

European Commission President Romano Prodi set the tone for the meeting of EU and U.S. leaders in a pre-summit press release. "I am confident that this summit will be an opportunity to revitalize our partnership with the U.S. This partnership is indispensable not only for the transatlantic community but for the world at large," Prodi said. More than a year after the Iraq war, relations are still in need of reanimation.

"Both sides have an interest in a 'fair-weather' summit, during which the disagreements over the Iraq war can finally be laid to rest," Janis Emmanouilidis of Munich's Center for Applied Policy Research told DW-WORLD. "Both parties need a stable Iraq, and both know that they'll continue to need a strong transatlantic relationship."

This realization partly stems from self-interest, said Franz-Josef Meiers of the Center for European Integration Research in Bonn. "President Bush has to prove for the coming elections that he's not just the Commander-in-Chief, but that he's also capable of getting the allies back on board. And it's become clear to France and Germany that a policy of opposition to the U.S. in the UN Security Council is not in their interests."

Emmanouilidis doesn't expect any key strategic decisions to emerge from the summit. "The time is not right for that," he said. "It's still not certain whether the current U.S. administration will be in office again next year."

When it comes to the three main topics on the agenda -- Iraq, the Middle East, and counter-terrorism measures -- experts say the most that can be expected is a resolution to calling for the continuation of the fight against terrorism, for example, through tighter cooperation between intelligence services on both sides of the Atlantic.

Iraq clouds summit

The two sides will issue a joint statement on Iraq, just days before the June 30 handover of sovereignty from U.S.-led occupying troops to the newly appointed Iraqi interim government. It comes at a sensitive time, since the U.S. has admitted it faces a serious problem with the insurgency in Iraq, which again manifested itself on Thursday with a coordinated series of bombings that left more than 100 people dead in five Iraqi cities.

In an interview on Thursday with Ireland's RTE television, Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq. He disputed the interviewer's assertion that most Irish people thougth the world was a more dangerous place in the wake of the Iraq war. "What was it like Sept. 11th, 2001?" he retorted. "I wouldn't have made the decisions I did if I didn't believe the world would be better. Why would I put people in harm's way if I didn't believe the world would be better?"

Massive security operation

Bush's visit has sparked widespread protests in Ireland with between 5,000 and 10,000 people marching through Dublin on Friday night. Around 600 protested at Shannon, the airport where he landed.

Many marchers vowed to cross Ireland and hold more protests near Dromoland Castle, the site of the summit. Demonstrators aren't just protesting against U.S. policies in Iraq, but also the role of the Irish government. Bertie Ahern's administration has come in for heavy domestic criticism for allowing thousands of U.S. jets to refuel at Shannon en route to the Middle East.

The area however has been cordoned off by around 4,000 Irish police and soldiers, making it the biggest security operation in the country's history.

EU pressured to address torture claims

During the discussions, experts say the EU will be keen to flex some political muscle and show that it's a force to be reckoned with. Jim Foster, deputy head of the U.S. mission to the EU, said the fact that the bloc recently gained 10 new members, adopted a constitution and approved a common security strategy has raised its status in U.S. eyes. "From the U.S. side, there's a clear recognition that relations with the European Union matter," Foster said.

Pressure from human rights organizations is mounting on the EU to use some of that political clout to make clear its position on the American treatment of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Amnesty International has called on summit host and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (photo) to end the EU's "embarrassing silence" in the face of recent revelations about U.S. abuse of prisoners. "There has been no indication that this has at any stage been taken up officially and forcefully with the U.S. government," Amnesty said.

Documents released by the White House showed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in December 2002 approving harsh interrogation techniques for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, such as hooding, stripping and isolating them and using dogs to intimidate them. By mid-January 2003, Rumsfeld's approval was suspended. But President Bush this week insisted that the U.S. government had never ordered detainees to be tortured.